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Randal Graves
Character in film Clerks Clerks (retronym: Clerks: The Animated Series) is an American animated sitcom based on Kevin Smith's 1994 comedy of the same name. It was developed for television by Smith, Smith's producing partner Scott Mosier and former Seinfeld writer David Mandel with character designs by Stephen Silver. Randal Graves Randal Graves, played by Jeff Anderson, is a clerk at RST Video, located next door to the Quick Stop convenience store in Leonardo, New Jersey. Chris Smith in The New York Times described this character as a "smart-ass",1 while multiple reviewers have described him as a "super slacker".23 In the first film and the cartoon, Randal is a prime example of the typical slacker: He works in a dead-end job, has no respect for customers, and arrives at work late every day. He periodically closes the store (during work hours) to chat with his best friend Dante Hicks, a Quick Stop clerk. Whereas Dante believes that title dictates behavior, Randal does whatever he pleases. Randal is usually quite cruel and disrespectful (mainly to customers) and doesn't really seem to have much care about what others think about him. He regularly arrives at the video store at least 15–30 minutes late and charges late fees to customers who have been waiting for the store to open. Often, he ignores customers' requests to recommend a movie, explaining that he does not meddle with other people's affairs (except perhaps those of Dante). He has been known to order porn movies for the store in front of children, spit water in customers' faces, and intrude on private conversations about sex. One of Randal's ancestors, who was Scots-Irish, immigrated to New Jersey in the 17th century. Randal is related to Brodie Bruce of''Mallrats.'' The two share a mutual "Cousin Walter," who is known for performing bizarre sexual acts, such as masturbating on a crashing aircraft and eventually killing himself while attempting to perform autofellatio. Both Brodie and Randal also mention stories regarding their grandmother. Brodie once mentioned she became a lesbian on her sixtieth birthday, while Randal mentioned that she used racial slurs in front of him as a child. The latter scenario influenced Randal into using the term "porch monkey" in front of an African American couple while working at Mooby's. However, Randal did not know at that point that he used a racial slur and claimed he used the term "porch monkey" to refer to lazy people of all racial backgrounds in general. Randal's behavior at times appears contradictory; for example, he says that he hates people but loves social gatherings, and says, "This job would be great if it weren't for the fucking customers." Such behavior spills into his relationship with Dante, whom he often coerces into highly unlikely, theoretical situations by manipulating him into feeling guilty. Randal goes off on an analytical theory of something outlandish, before going to the complete opposite. He might also perhaps be the worst confidant of all time, frequently causing an uproar in Dante's personal life by spilling secrets to those he shouldn't. Despite his insulting ways, Randal truly cares for his best friend Dante. He even once said to Dante's ex-girlfriend Caitlin "Hey Caitlin. Break his heart again, and I'll kill ya. Nothing personal." Which Caitlin remarks he has always been very protective of Dante. Randal sees Dante as the "counterbalance" to the former's hatred of other people. Randal only goes to Quick Stop instead of staying in the video store to talk to Dante about whatever comes to mind. Randal does his best to offer whatever advice he can to Dante though Dante generally doesn't take it because of Randal's rather rough way of putting it. Randal has also attempted to do favors for Dante, although they often backfire. For example, in Clerks 2, Randal set up a donkey show as a going-away gift for Dante, who was to move to Florida with his then-fiancee, Emma. However, the show results not only in Dante and Randal getting arrested, but Jay and Silent Bob, as well as fellow employee Elias, are arrested as well. The arrest led to a near-breakdown in their friendship. Another example was in Clerks''in which after Randal told Veronica that Dante left her for his ex-girlfriend Caitlin Bree. However, not only was Randal unaware that Dante reconsidered his decision to leave Veronica for Caitlin, a fight occurs between Randal and Dante after Veronica told him what Randal told her. In ''Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Randal, like Dante, plays a brief role early in the film in which the two clerks have Jay and Silent Bob arrested for loitering in front of Quick-Stop as well as for selling drugs in front of the store. As a result, a restraining order was placed on Jay and Silent Bob, who were not allowed within a hundred feet of the store. He and Dante attend the Bluntman and Chronic movie premiere, where Randal mentions putting up another restraining order on Jay and Silent Bob because he is going to give the movie a scathing review on the Internet. Randal's life centers on movies, video games and pornography. He often quotes dialogue and discusses films, goes to other video stores to rent porn, and is often depicted in Clerks: The Animated Series with a porn magazine. His love life is nonexistent (at least in a romantic sense). The few relationships he had never lasted; his ex-girlfriends were subsequently so fed up with men that they became lesbians. In contrast, it is implied he has a budding sex life, despite his overall pathetic existence; he frequently has girls over to his house, and brings them over to the Quick Stop when his mother is home. In Clerks II, it is stated that many of his sexual exploits are with "barely legal pussy" (18-year-old girls), thanks in no small part to their willingness to take part in taboo sexual acts (such as what he and others refer to bluntly as ass-to-mouth). As evidenced in a scene in Clerks II, Randal's favorite band is King Diamond and he is a fan of 80s speed metal and black metal, and dislikes other music, such as the band The Time. He is a fan of the novel Catcher in the Rye because it "recognizes the sheer volume of phonies in the world" 1. Randal is also a fan of the Star Wars trilogy and Ranger Danger, and heavily despises the Lord of the Rings and''Transformers''. Randal is also frequently the cause of the problems that he and Dante get into much to Dante's constant chagrin. The animated series shows this at least once per episode and it is mentioned in Clerks II that Randal is responsible for several of Dante's ruined relationships. This trait reaches its apex in the third episode of the Animated Series where he almost gets Leonardo Leonardo destroyed by the U.S. Air Force after he mistakes the villain's food poisoning for deadly motaba virus. It's also revealed here that he got his and Dante's jobs throughout the films and show because when Dante is chastising Randal for always being wrong. Randal retorts, "What about that time I told you about those two open jobs down the street? You know we'd stay there for a while, earn some money then move on with our lives." He then realizes that they've spent practically a decade at their jobs and yells, "Oh my God, you're right, I'm always wrong!". Randal is based on Smith's long-time friend Bryan Johnson.